Tank-valve.



Patented Dec. 7, 1915.

WM? Wm:

wILnIAM J. menus, on NEW YORK, N, Y.

TANK-VALVE.

iacaeae.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. t, 1915.

Application filed April 2, 1915. Serial m. 18,664.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. Eoonns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn of the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve: ments in Tank-Valves, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming'a part hereof.

This invention relates to ball valves of the character which are generally used to control the flow of liquids from a tank and which find especial usefulness in connection with flush tanks. Valves of this kind are generally formed wholly or partly of rubber, so that the valve will adapt itself automatically to itsseat in the escape pipe and thereby insure a liquid tight closure. The greatest objection to these rubber ball valves has always been that they are subjected. to

great distortion which tends to give the ball a permanent set and thereby destroy its adaptability to uniform seating. Various schemes have been resorted to in an effort to counter-act the great distorting pressures to which such valves are subjected, by placing in the interior of the valve metallic reinforcements of diverse shapes, by making one hemisphere of the ball of metal, or by adopting numerous other expedients. These attempts, however, have not been entirely satisfactory, as in some cases the structures did not realize the ends aimed 'at, while in other instances the remedies suggested were prohibitive in cost and could not be incorporated in the valve during the manufacture thereof with such slight expense and permanency as are requisite for a device of this kind. v

The present invention seeks to provide an inexpensive, simp e, convenient and durable ball valve in which is embodied reliable means for preventing permanent distortion the valve during the manufacture thereof,

: without requiring the employment of any additional apparatus and without lengthen--- 7 ing the time required for the usual molding and vulcanizing operations, and shall be susceptible of vulcanization with the body of the valve i n such manner as to constitute, in effect, an integral part thereof and insure a permanent union with the ball. These devices, in the present. invention, take the form of a substantially conical piece of metal which conforms to the contour of the inner wall of one of the hemispheres of the ball and has united directly therewith, the usual metallic spud with which the lifting rod is engaged. This conical cap and the spud are vulcanized with one of the hemispheres and are incased b a separate envelop of rubber which is vufcanized with the said hemisphere and united therewith in such manner as to retain the conical cap and the spud permanently in place. In furtherance of the durability of the structure the cap maybe formed with several apertures through which therubber envelop may extend for union with the inner wall of the inclosing hemisphere. These apertures serve the ad ditional function of venting the air between the surfaces of the metal cap and the walls of rubber incasing the same, thereby preventing the formation of blisters in the rubber during the molding and vulcanizing operations.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the formation of the upper surface of the ball valve of such contour as to minimize the pressure thereon and facilitate operation of the valve and insure the most effective results.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment, and in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a tank valve constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken through the valve shown in Fig. 1 on the plane indicated by the -line 22 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the valve shown in Fig. I on the plane indicated by the line 33 and looking in the direction of the arrows andshowing particularly the finished "interior of the upper hemisphere. Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken through the improved metallic cap and showing the spud engaged therewith.-

For the purposes of this description, it will be convenient to describe first the structure of the improved valve as it appears in its finished state, and then point out, in connection with one method of constructing the valve, those features ofthe invention which make the valve inexpensive to manufacture,;- As has been noted briefly in the preamble,

durable, and generally of' a character to 5 satisfy all requirementspf a device of this character, bgth from the view point of the user and of the manufacturer. p The valve, indicated generally at (a, as usual, is preferably-formed throughout of two rubber sections a'and a unitedthrough a seamless, equatorial line of union (L3, to constitute a homogeneous whole. The

'lowersecti'on' a is preferably formed as a true hemisphere, this contour havin proven 5 in use to be most satisfactory in e ecting a water-tight closure between the valve' and its seat in the escape pipe, under conditions Where it is imperative that the yielding character of the valve be 'relied upon to effect suchclosure; In accordancefwith the present invention, however, the usual practice with respect to the upper section a has been departed from, by forming this upper section, not'as a true hemisphere, but as a conical cap, the area of which is appreciably less than would be the area of a true hemi- "sphere formed on the same radius. The means for reinforcing the improved valve and preventing such distortion thereof as would result. in a permanent set comprise generally a metallic cap 6 of similar form .to'

the inner surface of the conical section a,

which is adapted to be mounted snugly within the valve against thesection a and to be 5 retained in position, by being vulcanizedtherewith, or by means of an inner sheathing of rubber 0, or by both, as will appear more particularly hereinafter.' The metal cap I) carries at its apex a metallic spud d,

40 .of usualform into which-may be threaded as usual, a suitable lifting-rod (not illustrated) for the valve. Further, to enhance the permanency of union between the metal cap I) and the upper section a of the valve, the spud d may be of-irregular outline, as

suggested by the provision of the annular groove d therein, to permit the rubber of the section a to be pressed into intimate association with such irregularities during the molding operations. The disposition of the stiff metal cap I) and its area, with respect to the upper rubber section a of' the I valve a are such that the lifting force transmitted to the cap from the lifting rod through the spud 03 is uniformly distributed over the inner surface of the upper section and all tendency, of the upper section to be 4 distorted axially or otherwise is eifectively counter-acted by the rigid cap 6. Accordingly, such distortion of the valve as there is, occurs only where the distortion is required, that is, wholly in the lower hemisphere a This hemisphere yields freely under impressed force and adapts itself auto- 65 matically to such forces so as to insure effective operation of the valve and proper seata ing thereof on the controlledescape pipe.

various attempts have hitherto been made to overcome the distorting pressures to 7 which tank valves of the character illustrated are subjected, but manymf these atcial manufacture. The structure of the improved valve being now understood, the improved features thereof by which it becomes possible .to, embody the reinforcing devices so .directly. in the valve during the course of manufacture thereof, without increasing 'materially the labor-involved or the cost of manufacture, will now be. considered. It is to be noted, however, that this invention is not to be limited in scope toany articular process of manufacture, but it 'Wll appear that the improved features, by reason of which the improved valve satisfies all of the requirements of commercial manufacturing, can be taken advantage of mother methods than that now to be described. In practice,

it has been found convenient, to employ the method of manufacturing rubber articles which is disclosed in a co-pending application of the present applicant filed. on November. .10, 1914, Ser. No. 871,234, to which reference is to be had for a complete understanding of the somewhat-brief. references now to bemade. In accordance with this method of-manufacturfe, the valve a is'composed of two sections a, a which are molded independently of each other. from suit-= able blanks-of raw or unvulcanized iubhey, taken as it comes from the mill without cal endering. The blank is then placed in a two-part mold, comprising male and female members, in which it is formed roughly intothe required shape while subjected to moderate heat and pressure. This step of the method applies to the two sections a and a of the improved valve, except that when the blank out of which the conical section a is to be molded is placed in it's mold,

the metal cap 6 is placed in the mold at the 11 same time in proper relation to the inner surface of the blank. The molding opera, tion of this section a, under moderate heat and pressure, results in the partial embedding of the spud d in the rubber and a nomi- 1 nal union of the cap I). with the inner surface of the conical section a. At this point it is important to refer to the apertures I) with which the cap I) is provided, these apertures 6 serving, during the preliminary molding operation of the blank, to permit the air between the metal cap I) and the conical section a to be vented freely, thereby preventing the air from being trapped between the metal cap and the rubber and causing blisters; These openings 1) become of even greater importance during the secnd stage of the treatment of the upper sec tion'a' which will now be referred to.

generally conical form desired and the metal cap 6 has been nominally united therewith,

in the manner described, the mold is opened and the thin rubber sheathing or envelop 0 of rubber previously cut to proper formand size, is laid'on the inner surface of the metal cap I) and the section a is replaced in the mold and further pressure and heatare applied in order that the sheathing c of rubber may be pressed intoproper shape and i into intimate contact with the inner surface of the cap 6 and have itslower edgesHnited nominally, as at c, with the rubber in the section a, thereby completely enveloping the metal cap. During this step, this sheathing c may be pressed through the "*edges in contact and after being raised to the proper vulcanizing temperature are subjected to great internal pressure, as of a 'fluid introduced under pressure through a pipe which maybe passed through the open ing a formed in the lower hemisphere 41. Un.der'this. great internal pressure, the rubber'is pressed closely against the inn'ersurface ofthe'mold, the seamat the line-of .union a is obliterated, the cap Z2 (which --may be of brass or other suitable material) is vulcanized with the rubber-in the" section and through the openengs b is completed during the vulcanizing operation, 'so that all. of the parts are united intoa substantially homogeneous integral unit, This union is further assisted by vulcanizing the spud d to the rubber about the apex of the conical section 0/. During the course of manufacture, asnoted, all of the air is expelled between the cap I) and the rubber so-that no blisters-are formed at any part of the valve and the exposed surface thereof is perfectly smooth.- The pec'uliar mechanical advantages of the valve having been pointed out particularly in connection with the description of the structure thereof, no further ref- After the blank'has been molded into the erence need be made thereto.

As'indicated before, other methods in the manufacture of the improved valve may be employed and modifications in its structure be resorted to, butall such departures are to be deemed within the spirit of this invention provided they fall ,within the scope of the appended claims. I l

I claim as my invention:

1. A flexible ball valve-of rubber or the like having a metallic plate secured on its inner surface, and a sheathing of rubber enveloping said plate and united with the rubber of the valve.

- 2. A flexible ball valve of rubber comprising a lower hemispherical section and an i upper section, and having a metallic plate disposed-throughout its surface in contact with the inner surface of the upper section, and a sheathing of rubber enveloping said plate and united with the rubber of the upper section alongthe edge of the plate.

3. A flexible ball valve of rubber comprising a lower hemispherical section, an upper j conical section united with the lower section,

and a conical metallic. cap vulcanized to the inner surface of the upper section and carrying, a spud for engagement with a lifting rod, and a sheathing of rubber enveloping said plate andvulcanized thereto and. to. the.

rubber of the upper section along the edge of the plate A flexible ball valve ofrubber comprising a lower hemispherical section, an upper conical section united with the lower section, and a perforated conical metallic cap vulcanizedto the inner surface of the upper s'ection and carrying. a spud for engagement with the' lifting rod, said spud being embedded in the rubber-of the upper section -andvulcanized thereto, and a sheathing, of

rubber enveloping said plate and vulcanized thereto and to the rubber of the upper sec tion along the edge of the plate and through the apertures therein.

This specification signed and witnessed this 31st day of March A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM J. EbrUrERS. 

